North of Happy by Adi Alsaid
Having read a book by this author that I liked before, I figured this would be a safe bet, and it was.
Carlos has an older brother named Felix. Felix, in an effort to thwart their father's wishes for his life, Felix travels the world, doing his own thing. At the beginning, Carlos and Felix are on the hunt for the perfect taco. At a stop that looks promising, Felix is shot and dies. Carlos has a hard time dealing with this, and sees Felix everywhere, including as a pigeon who talks to him.
At his high school graduation party, Carlos hears a speech his father makes and it seems as though their father has completely forgotten about Felix. This doesn't sit well with Carlos, and he makes plans to leave. But where to go? He sees a restaurant on a cooking show while he is packing, and the name sounds familiar. As it turns out, this was the number one place Felix wanted to eat at. So, Carlos heads to Seattle, and has to wait a couple of days to fulfill his reservation.
While there, he meets the hostess, Emma, and things just kinda click with them. Emma convinces the Chef to hire Carlos as a dishwasher, and that is his way into the restaurant business. Over the two months that he is there, Carlos gets lessons from Chef and is allowed to cook the staff meals, under the condition that he no longer sees Emma. Emma, as it turns out, is Chef's daughter.
Carlos and Emma sneak around, and on the day preceding the night of an important date, Carlos is given an opportunity to prove himself to Chef. A position on the line is riding on this. All he has to do is create a meal for the day's special. Carlos manages this in fine form, but instead of leaving, he stays to watch the kitchen cook his meal, which causes him to miss his date with Emma.
Will Emma be forgiving? Will Chef finally find out that Carlos and Emma are still seeing each other? Does Felix ever go away? You're going to have to read this to find out.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
TAYSHAS 9
Still Life with a Tornado by A.S. King
In the time I have been participating in the TAYSHAS contest, this is an author that has shown up on the list several times, and I have read all of those books. What's great about King is that her books aren't the same. The way some authors follow the same formula, just plugging in different names and locations, King doesn't do that.
Sarah is sixteen years old. She has an older brother, Bruce, who doesn't live with them, as he is nine years older. Also, her parents have told her that Bruce is now a religious nut or something. Sarah is an artist, and when she can't draw a pear or her hand, she starts to lose it. She starts seeing other versions of herself--one that is 23, one that is 10, and one that is 40--but they aren't hallucinations.
These versions of herself show up to help Sarah deal with her existential crisis. Ten-year-old Sarah helps Sarah to remember the real reason why her brother left, and what her dad is like. As it turns out, Sarah's dad was/is abusive, and he and Sarah's mom made a deal that they would stay together until Sarah moved out. Sarah's dad, by the way, sees nothing wrong with how he handles things and blames his actions on others.
How this all unravels is interesting. This was a fairly quick read, and one I recommend.
In the time I have been participating in the TAYSHAS contest, this is an author that has shown up on the list several times, and I have read all of those books. What's great about King is that her books aren't the same. The way some authors follow the same formula, just plugging in different names and locations, King doesn't do that.
Sarah is sixteen years old. She has an older brother, Bruce, who doesn't live with them, as he is nine years older. Also, her parents have told her that Bruce is now a religious nut or something. Sarah is an artist, and when she can't draw a pear or her hand, she starts to lose it. She starts seeing other versions of herself--one that is 23, one that is 10, and one that is 40--but they aren't hallucinations.
These versions of herself show up to help Sarah deal with her existential crisis. Ten-year-old Sarah helps Sarah to remember the real reason why her brother left, and what her dad is like. As it turns out, Sarah's dad was/is abusive, and he and Sarah's mom made a deal that they would stay together until Sarah moved out. Sarah's dad, by the way, sees nothing wrong with how he handles things and blames his actions on others.
How this all unravels is interesting. This was a fairly quick read, and one I recommend.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
TAYSHAS 8
The Inexplicable Logic of my Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz
I was introduced to this author in my children's lit class. Couldn't put that book down, and it was the same with this one. Good thing we had course selection today, as I didn't have to teach, and spent a good portion of the day with my nose in my kindle.
This is about Salvador. He was raised by Vicente, who was his mother's best friend. His mother died when he was three, and Vicente was there from the very beginning. Vicente is gay, which lately means that Salvador is getting into fights.
Salvador has a best friend named Samantha. She and her mother have a volatile relationship, yet when her mother dies, she has a tough time with it. She ends up moving in with Salvator and Vicente, and they officially become the family that they have been for years.
They have a friend named Fito, whose mother is a drug addict. Fito basically lives on the street, and works two jobs in order to put away money for college. He knows that is his only way out of this life. He's also gay, which is part of the issue with his mother.
Salvator is very close to his grandma, who is called Mima. She is in the last stages of cancer, and they are all dealing with the fact that she will be gone soon. Salvator doesn't want her to die, and isn't sure how he'll ever deal with her being gone.
There is SO MUCH more to this story, and you need to go RIGHT NOW and read this! This book made me laugh, it made me ugly cry, and everything in between. Seriously, READ THIS!
I was introduced to this author in my children's lit class. Couldn't put that book down, and it was the same with this one. Good thing we had course selection today, as I didn't have to teach, and spent a good portion of the day with my nose in my kindle.
This is about Salvador. He was raised by Vicente, who was his mother's best friend. His mother died when he was three, and Vicente was there from the very beginning. Vicente is gay, which lately means that Salvador is getting into fights.
Salvador has a best friend named Samantha. She and her mother have a volatile relationship, yet when her mother dies, she has a tough time with it. She ends up moving in with Salvator and Vicente, and they officially become the family that they have been for years.
They have a friend named Fito, whose mother is a drug addict. Fito basically lives on the street, and works two jobs in order to put away money for college. He knows that is his only way out of this life. He's also gay, which is part of the issue with his mother.
Salvator is very close to his grandma, who is called Mima. She is in the last stages of cancer, and they are all dealing with the fact that she will be gone soon. Salvator doesn't want her to die, and isn't sure how he'll ever deal with her being gone.
There is SO MUCH more to this story, and you need to go RIGHT NOW and read this! This book made me laugh, it made me ugly cry, and everything in between. Seriously, READ THIS!
Monday, January 22, 2018
Robert Langdon in Spain
Origin by Dan Brown
Way back in the early 2000's, when everyone was going crazy for a little book that presented "What if Jesus was married?," I started reading Dan Brown's books about symbologist, Robert Langdon. With the exception of The Lost Symbol, I have devoured each of these books in mere days, always wanting more. This one was no different.
It has to be said that Mr. Brown has a formula that works for him. There's some religious/historical crisis in a well-known city (usually in Europe, but not always), somehow the help of a symbologist is always needed, there's a hot woman, the mystery is solved (usually involving some deaths), and the crisis is averted. This one was no different.
In this case, Langdon was summoned to Barcelona by a former student who was going to reveal something astounding to the world. Something so astounding that leaders of the Catholic church, the Jewish community, and Islamic community don't want the information released into the world. Something that is worth killing for to keep it from being publicized.
Edmond Kirsh, Landgon's former student and friend has uncovered the "secret" to creation. He's an atheist and one of the world's foremost technology gurus. He stages a massive unveiling at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain, whose head curator, Ambra Vidal, is the future queen of Spain. Kirsh is assassinated in front of a worldwide audience, seconds after Langdon has been alerted by Winston, Kirsch's artificial intelligence cohort.
What follows is a mystery that takes Langdon and Ambra to Barcelona in an effort to reveal Kirsh's discovery to the world, while eluding those who are out to get them.
Like Brown's other books in the series, this one is packed with description and intrigue. I am happy to report that I did guess whodunit on this one, long before the end of the book.
Way back in the early 2000's, when everyone was going crazy for a little book that presented "What if Jesus was married?," I started reading Dan Brown's books about symbologist, Robert Langdon. With the exception of The Lost Symbol, I have devoured each of these books in mere days, always wanting more. This one was no different.
It has to be said that Mr. Brown has a formula that works for him. There's some religious/historical crisis in a well-known city (usually in Europe, but not always), somehow the help of a symbologist is always needed, there's a hot woman, the mystery is solved (usually involving some deaths), and the crisis is averted. This one was no different.
In this case, Langdon was summoned to Barcelona by a former student who was going to reveal something astounding to the world. Something so astounding that leaders of the Catholic church, the Jewish community, and Islamic community don't want the information released into the world. Something that is worth killing for to keep it from being publicized.
Edmond Kirsh, Landgon's former student and friend has uncovered the "secret" to creation. He's an atheist and one of the world's foremost technology gurus. He stages a massive unveiling at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain, whose head curator, Ambra Vidal, is the future queen of Spain. Kirsh is assassinated in front of a worldwide audience, seconds after Langdon has been alerted by Winston, Kirsch's artificial intelligence cohort.
What follows is a mystery that takes Langdon and Ambra to Barcelona in an effort to reveal Kirsh's discovery to the world, while eluding those who are out to get them.
Like Brown's other books in the series, this one is packed with description and intrigue. I am happy to report that I did guess whodunit on this one, long before the end of the book.
Friday, January 12, 2018
More Poetry
salt by nayyirah waheed
In truth, I bought this to read after a discussion with a student of mine. I read Milk and Honey around the same time she did, and she came in telling me that this was almost as good. Well, we all know that I am not a poetry aficionado, so I would not presume to say that this was almost as good. What I do know is that this book of poems did not touch me in any way resembling the way Milk and Honey touched me.
This is not to say that I didn't like the poems; I did. However, there were several that I just did not relate to, particularly those which showed the poet's hate of those of us with white skin.
And this is something I don't understand: if a white person had written the things this poet had, it would be racist. But since the poet is black, it's somehow ok to write those things, and it's not racist? This. This is why racism will never go away.
In truth, I bought this to read after a discussion with a student of mine. I read Milk and Honey around the same time she did, and she came in telling me that this was almost as good. Well, we all know that I am not a poetry aficionado, so I would not presume to say that this was almost as good. What I do know is that this book of poems did not touch me in any way resembling the way Milk and Honey touched me.
This is not to say that I didn't like the poems; I did. However, there were several that I just did not relate to, particularly those which showed the poet's hate of those of us with white skin.
And this is something I don't understand: if a white person had written the things this poet had, it would be racist. But since the poet is black, it's somehow ok to write those things, and it's not racist? This. This is why racism will never go away.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
A Serious Version of the Movie "Clue"
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Every time I read one of Ms. Christie's books, I can't believe I didn't "discover" her work until now. I could have been enjoying her for years! This one was recommended to me by a friend/coworker when I was reading Murder on the Orient Express. She told me this was her favorite and she felt this was the best of Christie's works. I have to say, at least on the latter part, this is the best--of the three I have read anyway.
Ok, so the title I gave this entry is that it was like the movie Clue, and in many ways, it is. Eight people are invited to Indian Island for a holiday. Two people, the caretakers of the island, though only recently hired, are already there. So, a total of ten people. On the first night, after dinner, they play a record on the phonograph, and each of the ten people is accused of killing someone. Most of them are able to explain why it is perceived that they killed someone. One flat out refuses, at first, to concede that she had anything to do with the death of the person she is accused of.
In each of the bedrooms and the dining room, there is a "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme. A morbid rhyme, at that. There's also an Indian decoration on the table. Beginning on that first night, people start dying, in the methods, more or less, indicated in the nursery rhyme. No one knows who is doing the killing. I know I didn't, but that's really no surprise, as I seem to be getting it wrong lately.
I really enjoyed this one, more so than the two Poirot novels I read. Don't get me wrong, I love Poirot, but this one resonated more with me. It also seemed to move along more quickly than the other two I read. I will definitely be reading more of Christie's books.
Every time I read one of Ms. Christie's books, I can't believe I didn't "discover" her work until now. I could have been enjoying her for years! This one was recommended to me by a friend/coworker when I was reading Murder on the Orient Express. She told me this was her favorite and she felt this was the best of Christie's works. I have to say, at least on the latter part, this is the best--of the three I have read anyway.
Ok, so the title I gave this entry is that it was like the movie Clue, and in many ways, it is. Eight people are invited to Indian Island for a holiday. Two people, the caretakers of the island, though only recently hired, are already there. So, a total of ten people. On the first night, after dinner, they play a record on the phonograph, and each of the ten people is accused of killing someone. Most of them are able to explain why it is perceived that they killed someone. One flat out refuses, at first, to concede that she had anything to do with the death of the person she is accused of.
In each of the bedrooms and the dining room, there is a "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme. A morbid rhyme, at that. There's also an Indian decoration on the table. Beginning on that first night, people start dying, in the methods, more or less, indicated in the nursery rhyme. No one knows who is doing the killing. I know I didn't, but that's really no surprise, as I seem to be getting it wrong lately.
I really enjoyed this one, more so than the two Poirot novels I read. Don't get me wrong, I love Poirot, but this one resonated more with me. It also seemed to move along more quickly than the other two I read. I will definitely be reading more of Christie's books.
Friday, January 5, 2018
Who's Your Impaler?
Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
Picking up a little after Stalking Jack the Ripper, we find Audrey Rose and Thomas on the Orient Express, headed to Bran Castle to study forensics. Bran Castle is in Romania, and was once the home of Vlad the Impaler. On the train, someone is killed via a stake through the heart, and so is someone in the town of Brasov, where the castle is. These deaths lead to rumors that Vlad the Impaler is back. So Audrey Rose and Thomas go from one murderous intrigue right into another.
When they get to the castle, they find out that they were misled, and are not guaranteed their spots in the school. Instead, they will have to compete for spots, and there are only two. Audrey Rose and Thomas have not exactly made the best impression with the headmaster, and it's going to be difficult for them to prove themselves.
On the first day, Audrey Rose manages to make enemies of a couple of her fellow students, and another student dies-drained of all of his blood, which furthers the rumors of Vlad rising from the dead. In an effort to solve what's going on, Audrey Rose keeps getting into trouble with the headmaster, but she has Thomas to help her make the best of things.
As much as I loved the first book, I loved this one even more. I was completely satisfied with this book when I was done. The only downside is that I now have to wait until September for the next installment. You'd better believe I will be pre-ordering it!
Picking up a little after Stalking Jack the Ripper, we find Audrey Rose and Thomas on the Orient Express, headed to Bran Castle to study forensics. Bran Castle is in Romania, and was once the home of Vlad the Impaler. On the train, someone is killed via a stake through the heart, and so is someone in the town of Brasov, where the castle is. These deaths lead to rumors that Vlad the Impaler is back. So Audrey Rose and Thomas go from one murderous intrigue right into another.
When they get to the castle, they find out that they were misled, and are not guaranteed their spots in the school. Instead, they will have to compete for spots, and there are only two. Audrey Rose and Thomas have not exactly made the best impression with the headmaster, and it's going to be difficult for them to prove themselves.
On the first day, Audrey Rose manages to make enemies of a couple of her fellow students, and another student dies-drained of all of his blood, which furthers the rumors of Vlad rising from the dead. In an effort to solve what's going on, Audrey Rose keeps getting into trouble with the headmaster, but she has Thomas to help her make the best of things.
As much as I loved the first book, I loved this one even more. I was completely satisfied with this book when I was done. The only downside is that I now have to wait until September for the next installment. You'd better believe I will be pre-ordering it!
Monday, January 1, 2018
A New Take on an Old Killer
Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
I enjoy Jack the Ripper. I watch all the tv shows, I can't tell you how many times I've seen From Hell, and I even read that horrible book by Patricia Cornwell where she "solved the mystery." All that said, I REALLY enjoyed this book!
One nice thing, if you can say there is any nice thing about the Ripper murders, is that we don't know who actually committed the murders (except, apparently, Patricia Cornwell), so any work of fiction written can make it anybody. And really, it could have been just about anybody.
Once again, it wasn't who I thought it was, but I was convinced it was one particular character up until the last forty pages or so. I can't believe I am so bad at solving these mysteries!!
Ok, so the story...
Audrey Rose is seventeen in Victorian England (obviously, since that is when the Ripper murders took place). She lives in relative splendor in London with her father and her brother, Nathaniel. Her father has a bit of an opium addiction that stems from the death of his wife some five years prior, and this is important because he is sent away to the country for a few weeks to detox. Audrey Rose spends a great deal of time in her uncle's laboratory, performing autopsies if you will, and learning about forensics. She also dresses as a boy to attend her uncle's classes.
It is in one of these classes that Audrey Rose meets Thomas Cresswell, another student of her uncle's. The three of them are charged by Scotland Yard to help solve the Ripper murders, until Uncle Jonathan is arrested and put in Bedlam, that is. Audrey Rose and Thomas know that Uncle Jonathan is not responsible, and do everything they can to clear his name. What finally does so is another murder is committed while Uncle Jonathan is in the asylum. He is released, and they all keep searching for the killer.
This was so well done, you could almost feel yourself walking along the foggy, cobblestone streets of the East End of London. You could envision the ghastly images of the victims, and the injuries they sustained because of the author's descriptions. As I said, I was wrong on the culprit, but it was a great read on the whole.
I enjoy Jack the Ripper. I watch all the tv shows, I can't tell you how many times I've seen From Hell, and I even read that horrible book by Patricia Cornwell where she "solved the mystery." All that said, I REALLY enjoyed this book!
One nice thing, if you can say there is any nice thing about the Ripper murders, is that we don't know who actually committed the murders (except, apparently, Patricia Cornwell), so any work of fiction written can make it anybody. And really, it could have been just about anybody.
Once again, it wasn't who I thought it was, but I was convinced it was one particular character up until the last forty pages or so. I can't believe I am so bad at solving these mysteries!!
Ok, so the story...
Audrey Rose is seventeen in Victorian England (obviously, since that is when the Ripper murders took place). She lives in relative splendor in London with her father and her brother, Nathaniel. Her father has a bit of an opium addiction that stems from the death of his wife some five years prior, and this is important because he is sent away to the country for a few weeks to detox. Audrey Rose spends a great deal of time in her uncle's laboratory, performing autopsies if you will, and learning about forensics. She also dresses as a boy to attend her uncle's classes.
It is in one of these classes that Audrey Rose meets Thomas Cresswell, another student of her uncle's. The three of them are charged by Scotland Yard to help solve the Ripper murders, until Uncle Jonathan is arrested and put in Bedlam, that is. Audrey Rose and Thomas know that Uncle Jonathan is not responsible, and do everything they can to clear his name. What finally does so is another murder is committed while Uncle Jonathan is in the asylum. He is released, and they all keep searching for the killer.
This was so well done, you could almost feel yourself walking along the foggy, cobblestone streets of the East End of London. You could envision the ghastly images of the victims, and the injuries they sustained because of the author's descriptions. As I said, I was wrong on the culprit, but it was a great read on the whole.
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